starter activity

Keeping the Quantocks Special

The Quantock Hills are a very beautiful and special area.

They are used by many different groups of people. Each group of people (“user group”) has different likes and needs.

This picture board activity is about 9 different user groups. During the activity we will think about why each user group likes the Quantocks.

We hope you will enjoy this picture board.

Keeping the Quantocks Special

Welcome to this nine number picture board!

How to use it:

On the next page you will see a 3x3 grid. Each of the numbers represents one of the Quantock Hills user groups.

• Click once on a number (it doesn’t matter which one you click on

first) to see a photo of one of the user groups

• Click once on the photo, and it will take you to some information

• At any stage, you can click on the red square to link back to

the picture board.

(This activity is adapted from a template available from www.sln.org.uk/geography)

Nine Different User-Groups

1 32

4 5 6

7 8 9

1User group: walkers and picnicers

Why do you think this family has come to the Quantock Hills?

Click on the picture for some answers

2User group: cyclists (and horse-riders)

Why is this person cycling up a stream?Click on the picture to find out

3User group: car drivers

Why might this car be parked on the grass?Click on the picture to find out

4User group: Off-road drivers

What do you think these people are doing?Click on the picture to find out

5 User group: farmers and commoners

What is happening here?Click on the picture to find out

6User group: foresters

Why are all these logs on the ground?Click on the picture to find out

7User group: local people

Who are these people?Click on the picture to find out

8House builders and developers

Are these old house or new ones?Click on the picture to find out

9User group: animals and plants

Do you think you can see wild deer in the Quantock Hills?

Click on the picture to find out

This family are having an afternoon out walking on the Quantock Hills. They like to have some exercise and fresh air, see the view, and enjoy the peace and quiet. In this photo they are showing the baby some wild ponies!

40,000 people visit the Quantock Hills every year, and many of them enjoy walking and picnicing.

That’s a lot of people!

Mountain biking and horse-riding are popular sports on the Quantock Hills. People enjoy the space and the freedom to cycle fast, away from roads and traffic.

Sometimes they cycle fast up stream-beds, footpaths, and even over the open moors.

These people are going to have a picnic on the grass near their car. They have come for an afternoon drive from the town of Bridgwater.

They enjoy being in the countryside.

Because there is a lot of space in the Quantocks, people like to drive over the hills. Motorbike scrambling is another popular sport on the hills.

People enjoy riding up steep slopes in the mud, away from roads and traffic

The horse-riders are farmers, who are herding their sheep on the hills.

The sheep stay out on the hills most of the year because there is a lot of good pasture for them up here, and a lot of space for them to graze.

Other local people, called “commoners”, also have rights to graze their animals on the hills.

These trees have been felled by foresters. Forestry is one of the industries of the Quantock Hills.

The foresters plant trees on the slopes of the hills, and fell them when they are old, to sell for their timber.

These people live in one of the villages in the Quantock Hills.

They chose to live here because it is quiet and very beautiful.

Most of these are new houses. A lot of people like to live in the villages on the edges of the Quantock Hills, and a lot of new building is taking place all over this area. At Cotford St Luke there is even a new school!

You can see wild deer almost anywhere on the Quantock Hills, if you keep really quiet and still.

And there are also badgers, squirrels, lots of birds, butterflies and insects.